Dear MEL Topic Readers,
After Years of Sharp Decline, Will China’s Birth Rate Rebound?
China’s population is around 1.4 billion, nearly the same as India. The
nation recorded its first population drop in six decades last year. And its
population is expected to fall to around 1.3 billion by 2050 while India’s will
increase to 1.7 billion. Furthermore, China is rapidly aging, and the
population aged 60 or older is expected to reach 400 million, making up about
28% of the population. That’s because the number of new births has been declining
faster than any other country. Over the last several years, the number of newborns
has been showing double-digit declines. In fact, there were 18.8 million
newborns in 2016 but the number fell to 9.5 million in 2022, which is nearly half
of six years before. And the number is expected to decline another 10% or so
this year to around eight million. What is going on? As the number of women of
childbearing age declines, so does the number of newborns. Also, fewer people
are getting married and are not so motivated to have children. If there has
been such a rapid decrease in the number of children, what is happening to
schools and businesses for children?
Read the article and learn about China’s drastic decline in newborns.
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